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New CE Bailey Report


Albert

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OK, first the stats: 06 RT and I'm 5'9+" with a 30" inseam. Also VERY important, I have the low seat so please take that into account if you're comparing. Finally, my personal preference is to look over the windshield. I will, in extreme rain and/or cold conditions resort to looking through but not generally.

 

After around 1500 miles it became obvious to me that I needed to replace the stock BMW shield for 2 reasons. First, at highway speed I could feel turbulence on my shoulders due to the width of the WS. Second, when I ran the WS down to where I was looking over it, I had (what I considered) too much turbulence, wind noise, etc.. Having said that, if I were to only ride locally I could have probably lived with the situation but long days on the highway would simply have been too much of a grind.

 

After much research (primarily here, thank you very much) I opted for the CE Bailey shield of +1 inch height and +3 inch width over stock. The shield arrived Monday and was installed in around 10 minutes. No fit problems and the windshield was in perfect condition.

 

The difference in noise and turbulence at all speeds is pronounced. The buffeting around the shoulders is gone. The issues I had with turbulence around my helmet and ears is, for all intents, gone. I can now run the shield at practially any height without encountering turbulence. Easily at 3 to 4 inches below eye level with no problem. One caveat is, while I've been up into the 65+ mph range it has not been for any extended time. I don't forsee any problem here.

 

There is one important point to make however, that would have influenced my choice of size. Given that the CEB has a reverse curve near the top of the shield, the end result is that, for a similar size in the stock shape, more of the shield is in your line of sight. The end result is you can, in my opinion, slighty down size the height you choose without losing any effective height. I could have easily gone with the stock height and only increased the width (which I probably should have done). With my seat in the low position (remember I have the low seat), I have to run the CEB in the lowest postion to see over it. With my seat in the high position the CEB is perfect and I have a range of adjustment for different conditions. I suspect my high seat setting is similar to the stock seat in the low position.

 

To make a long story, well . . . longer, I'm quite happy with the purchase and have no qualms about recommending it. Just keep the shape issue in mind when deciding on height.

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Yep...the height issue is definately something that should be reckoned with. I originally ordered a -3 (with wings) for the LT....and though it did a good job of blowing the stuff over my head.....I just couldn't get used to how HI it still was...even in the lower position. After talking with Steve at CeeBee's and emailing back and forth, he suggested the Euro-cut shield, with "wings" and at a -5 instead. So that's what I asked for.

 

Because I'm not a rich dude like some.....I was very fortunate in being able to sell the first shield to SeaMarshal (his wife knocked his off the freezer and broke it.. grin.gif).

 

It got here about 2 weeks ago, and I had it on the bike within an hour! I gotta tell ya...that straight cut across the top makes a world of difference as far as I'm concerned!

Went straight on w/o any problems...... It REALLY looks nice!!

 

PS....Forgot to tell you.....the day after getting the new shield on....I hit a bird at the bottom edge!! While it wasn't a chicken....and it wasn't frozen.....the bird did explode in a cloud of dust and feathers.....sailed over my left shoulder and was last seen heading for a tall tree...still alive!

Speaking of birds.....did you all see on the news about the bald eagle that did a dive-bomb on a squirrel... caught it... but then couldn't pull out of the dive quick enough, and crashed thru someones double-pane window in their house. It left the dead squirrel behind, but it flew off on its own!!

 

Pat

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I put a cee bailey on my R1150RT and I am pleased with the noise and wind difference. BUT...now when I ride in the rain, the water on the cee bailey collects in two little streams, comes off the side of the windshield, and hits me right in the face. Vision-wise, it's almost as bad as having no windshield at all.

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I added my pretty-verbose ride report here regarding my experience with the Cee Bailey's screen on my R11xxRT. FYI.

 

Summary: I purchased a Cee Bailey's #2 +4.5 Euro cut shield (with the "flip" at the top of the shield). I had a BMW "tall" (+2") shield on the bike. The BMW tall shield produced both wind and turbulence at all speeds. When raised about 90% of maximum height, wind protection was better, but the shield "dumped" wind upon my head and shoulders, and destablized the front end.

 

The Cee Bailey shield, on the other hand, produces about the same about of wind in the max-down position as the BMW shield in the 90% max up position, with no wind turbulence. The turbulence doesn't pick up until at 65mph or above. Raising the screen +25% to +50% eliminates most of the wind, except near the outside shoulder area (which doesn't bother me).

 

I'm 6'2" tall.

 

Bottom line: The Cee Bailey screen does an exceptional job at improving wind protection and reducing turbulence. However, the +4.5" screen is probably an inch too high for me. I like to be able to lower the screen into "blast mode" when it's hot, and the +4.5" in the max down position won't allow that. If side wind turbulence bothers you, add +1 or +2 wide to your screen. Factory width is fine for me.

 

Otherwise, for a 6'2" guy, +2.5 or +3.5 in height is probably adequate. I don't know if the seated height difference between a 6'2" tall person and 5'9" person is actually 5 inches. I sort of doubt it. My guess is that factory height with the flip would be fine for 5'9", and add 1" in height for every 2" in height for the rider from that point on (i.e. 5'11" @ +1.5", 6' or 6'1" @ +2.5", 6'2 @ +3.5", etc.).

 

Riding a bike is probably the best way to figure out your ideal screen size. That option wasn't available to me. But the ride reports here will give prospective buyers a heck of a lot better info than I had when I purchased mine. thumbsup.gif

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